Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-09-24

10 sulI-u. /. 49,. ...>s, .nas Lass IN
which they were born. They are exceedingly
conservative, and look with disfavor on
changes. Their legal tender is silver cut into
little squares Of different weights; gold is the
baser coin, and is about OF the same value as
our silver. 1t is. however, much prized for its
beauty, and largely used for ornaments and
decorative purposes. Most Of the trade, how
ever. is carried on by means OF sale and bar
ter, payment being made in kind Agricul-
ture is the great business Of the country, and
1, really well understood and carried out,
most of the available acreage being under
cultivation. Great attention is also given to
the breeding of cattle and horses, the latter
being unsurpassed by any have ever seen
either in Europe or Africa.
And now comes question which / find
some difficulty in answering. Are the Zu-
Vendi a civilized or a harbarous peoplei Some
times think the one, sometimes the other.
In some branches Of art they have attained
the very highest proficiency. Take, for in
stance. their buildings and their statuary. l
do not think that the latter can be equaled
either in beauty or imaginative power any
where in the world; and as for the former,
il NAV have been rivaled in ancient Egypt,
but am sure that it has never been since.
But, on the other hand, they are totally igno-
runt Of many other arts. Till Sir Henry.
who happened TO know something about it,
showed them how to do it by mixing silica
and lime, they could not MAKE a piece Of
glass; and their crockery is rather primitive.
A water clock Is their nearest approach to q
wa ;ch; indeed, ours delighted them exceed
ins:ly. They know nothing about steam,
electricity or gunpowder. and, mercifuly for
themselves, nothing about printing or the
penny post Thus they are spared many
evils; for OF q truth our age has learned the
wisdom Of the old world saying. "He who in
creaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow"
As regards their religion, it Is a natural one
! for imaginative people, who know no better,
and might therefore lie expected to turn to the
| sun and worship him the all father, but it
cannot justly be called elevating or spiritual.
| # is true that they do sometimes speak Of the
sun as the garment Of tie spirit" but it is .
vague term, and what they really adore is
! the fiery orb himself. They also call him the
| "hope Of eternity" but here again the mean
ing is vague. and doubt il the phrase con
veys any very clear impression to their
minds. Some of them do indeed believe in .
| future life for the good know that Nylep-
tina does firmly-but it Is private faith,
arising from the promptings OF the spirit, not
| an essential of their creed. So. on the whole,
! cannot say that consider this sun worship
| as a religion Indicative OF a civilized people,
however magnificent ani imposing is ritual,
or however moral and high sounding the
maxims Of its priests. many Of whom, am
sure, have their own opinions on the whole
| subject: though OF course they have nothing
! but praise for a system which provides them
with SO many of the good things OF this
world
There are now only two more matters to
which need alude, namely, the Language
and the system of cahgraphy. As for the
former it is soft sounding. and very rich and
| flexible. Sir Henry says that it sounds some
thing like modern Greek but OF course it Las
no connection with il. 1t IS easy TO acquire,
being simple in its construction, and pc
culiar quality about 1t is its euphony, and the
way in which the sound OF the words udapts
itself to the meaning to be expressed. Long
before We mastered the language could
frequently make out what was meant bv the
ring of the sentence. IL Is on this account
that the language lends itself So well to poet
ical defamation. CI which these Temnrkat 10
peope,are very fond The Ia Veudi a y,ha ,es
seems, Sir Henry says. TO he derived, li.O
every other known system of letters, from
a Phpnician source, and therefore more re-
motely still from the ancient Egyptian hie-
ratio writing Whether or no this is fact
l cannot say. not heing learned in such mat
ters. All | know about II Is that their
alphabet consists OF eighteen hI.roglyphics,
each of which Is, 20 my mind. more pwzzlnc
and cumbersome than the last. But aS the
people of Zu NendlS are not given tn the
writing of novels, or q. anything except bust
ness documents and records of the iri,fesi
character, it answers their purpose well
enough.